Confusion
by AreYouRandy
Summary: Girl meets boy. Boy meets girl. They fall in love, but she can't remember.
1. Chapter 1

Things between Annie and me were never easy. It was the first summer after all of our duties as the Hunger Games victor team. I had to spend a couple of extra weeks at the Capitol, while she headed to her party, back at District 4. We couldn't keep in touch, so I was anxiously waiting for the moment I'd hold her again in my arms, smell the salt in her hair, wipe the sand off her skin.

We got closer during the tour. We became more than just tribute and mentor. She had trouble seeing the families of the dead kids, and I would comfort her. She had trouble leaving the train at the Capitol station, and I carried her in my arms. I didn't make any move, though. Annie had a bit of mental confusion after the arena. Maybe she saw love when I was just taking care of her as a tutor. Or maybe it was love, and I couldn't see it. But, still, Annie crept up on me.

Sometimes, she would have panic attacks and she'd forget who I was, who she was and what the Games were. And she would keep asking why she wasn't at District 4. And few moments later, everything would come back to her, like those big waves that sink fishing boats. And Annie would cry for the rest of the day. I cried too, sometimes. I hated to watch her suffer.

I stepped out of the train at the District's station. I could have traveled in one of the luxurious Capitol trains, but riding one of the old ones that brought the grains meant coming home earlier.

The smell of Capitol Cologne was still on my skin and I was still wearing the fancy clothes the rich madams like me wearing. I took off the tight blue shirt and ran my fingers through my hair, trying to get rid of all that gel. I felt too different from all the workers around me, getting the tesseraes. I was too clean, too perfect…Too Capitol. I needed desperately to see Annie, but I needed to be me again first.

Hot sun and blue skies surrounded me as I walked towards the port. The victor's houses were in an island, a few miles away from the coast. I intended to get a boat, but the salt and the waves were calling me. Before I could take a last breath, my feet took me to the edge of the pier and, in a matter of seconds, I felt the warm water hit my skin.

Gel and cologne were leaving my body, and those last weeks were leaving my brain. Only when my lungs cried for air, I pulled me up and got back to the surface. I slowly moved my arms and legs, moving towards the island. The sunlight hit my face as my feet softly brushed the seaweed below them.

It took me about five minutes to reach the island, and, only when I reached my pier, was that I realized I still had the black Capitol pants on. I took them off at the water and tied them where my boat was supposed to be.

It was very hard for me to leave the water. My head ached from the alcohol I drank. My body was full of scratches and lipstick marks. The little souvenirs I always brought from the parties. When my muscles found the courage to pull me up to the pier, I just laid there, eyes closed and sunlight drying my skin.

I don't know how much time I spent in that position, but, when I opened my eyes again, the sky was a bit darker and the sun was lower, which meant the night would soon approach. As I walked towards my door, I glanced at Annie's house. I wanted to run there and see her, but I was only wearing my boxers, and besides, her windows were dark, so she probably wasn't at the island.

As I entered home, I proceeded straight to the shower. The water wasn't as warm as at the Capitol, and the soap didn't make you skin as smooth. But, still, it was a thousand times better. After finishing, I applied the expensive medicine to avoid scars that I received as part of my payment. Rich lady don't find scars very sexy.

By the time I was done dressing up with a plain shirt and my old fishing pants, I heard a motor boat arriving the island. _"Annie"_ I whispered to myself as I ran downstairs, towards the door. Annie's pier, however, was still empty.

"_Hey" _I shouted to Mags, who was unloading some shopping bags. _"Need any help?"_

_"Finnick! I didn't know you'd be back today." _She answered as I got some of her bags. _"When did you arrive? Did you eat already?" _Mags was a sort of mom to me ever since I was reaped.

_"I arrived around noon, I think. And no, I'm starving!" _We walked towards her house. She asked me about the Capitol, and I asked her about Annie.

_"Oh, she arrived fine, but she's staying at her parents' house for a while, I believe." _Mags said, while she served me a bowl of shrimp stew. Annie's parents didn't move in with her after the game, like mine. She had a younger sister, who was still at school, and her family's fishing net's business was still up and running

_"I see" _I tell Mags. _"Well, I guess I'll go home and rest, then. Maybe I'll go see her tomorrow." _I finished eating, helped Mags with the dishes and walked back home. It was already very dark, so I lit the torches along the piers that were used to light the way and also warn boats that the Island exists.

Although I told Mags I was going to rest, I didn't. Instead, I sat at my pier, looking at the continent in the distance. I didn't feel tired. I missed Annie. I wanted to see her and hold her again. I never understood this feeling, even in the years after. How I fell for her…Why I fell for her. Nothing had happened before the games, we didn't even know each other. Nothing happened until the tour. And I wasn't sure about it, about my feelings, until that last party. I was escorting a 40 year old widow, a month after her husband had died. I don't think "mourning" was ever on her dictionary at all.

Finnick Odair was a valuable luxury, straight from District 4. The exotic lover anyone could have, as long as they could pay. Not pay me, of course (although I received part of the profit), but I got my rewards. And that night I was delivering the full price companionship package. After the party a car took us to the lady's apartment, in a rather colorful area of the Capitol.

As soon as we entered the place, I felt her lips crashing into mine and her long sharp nails digging the muscles of my back. I was already used to the noises and the moves. I was a horny teenager when I started this job. I even liked it then. I like the idea of free sex. But with time, I became numb. Everything was automatic. I was just a Capitol puppet.

There was only one thing that kept me going. My reward: Secrets. I knew everything about everyone that mattered at the Capitol. And as them madam told me who was cheating on who, I realized who was the real cheater. I was cheating on Annie, even if nothing real had happened between us. And I felt really dirty.

I woke up feeling better the next morning. Annie's pier was still empty, unlike mine. Mags, I thought. I went downstairs to the kitchen in order to eat some breakfast. My fridge was quite empty, so I would have to go shopping after I saw Annie. Maybe I'd take her with me and cook something for us.

Cooking is one of my hidden talents. Sometimes my father would spend the whole month out in the sea, and I had to help my mom with my younger brothers. Mother passed away a year before my reaping, and my brothers work with my dad at the docks now, so I rarely see my family.

Walking towards the pier, I noticed Mags had laid the black pants on the grass so they would dry. I entered the boat and headed towards the continental part of the District. Upon arriving at the port, I was saluted by some sailors. The place was crowded, and I wondered if any boat was coming back and if my brothers or my father were on it.

I made my way through the people and arrived at the main street, where most of the shops were located. There was a big flower shop two blocks ahead of me, and I thought about buy something for Annie. The store was enormous and they sold every sort of flower, bouquet or breakfast basket. A young and cheerful attendant showed me tons of different flowers, ranging from regular daisies to shiny violets that played music.

Everything seemed either too normal or too Capitol, and I was about to give up when I saw the perfect gift. It was a white rose; its petals were decorated with little blue waves that seemed to move, depending on the light position. The store girl told me that one was a new model, crafted entirely in District 4, instead of coming from the Capitol.

After leaving the flower shop, I finally headed to Annie's house. Her family lived in a wealthy neighborhood, populated mostly by store owners and businessmen. The houses there were probably the best in the district, after the ones at Victor's Island, of course. Annie's place was one of the last ones, by the end of the street. It was surrounded by a white fence and a beautiful garden. Her mother was sitting at the porch, reading a book, when I arrived.

_"Excuse, Mrs. Cresta?" _I shouted form the street.

_"Oh, hello Finnick!" _She said with a Capitol-like accent. Maybe she thought it made her somewhat fancy. _"Come in!" _She stood up, leaving the book on her chair.

_"Is Annie home?" _I asked, walking towards her. _"Mags said she's staying here."_

_ "Oh, Finnick, darling, maybe it's best you don't see her. Ever since she came back, Annie's been a little more confused. She's having some trouble processing everything that happened. She doesn't remember many things." _

_"But where is she?" _I asked. The thought of Annie losing it again and forgetting everything started to burn my mind. I needed to see her. I needed to protect her. _"Where is Annie?" _I was shouting now.

_"She's at the back yard, but I don't think you sh-" _I didn't listen to the rest. I ran around the house, towards the yard. Before I could see her, I heard her voice. She was happy and laughing. But when my eyes finally found her, she wasn't alone. She was wrapped around someone else's arms.

_"Toph! Stop it!" _She half screamed, half laughed as he tickled her stomach. It was Tophller, her boyfriend from before the games: The one that didn't even say goodbye to her when she left for the Capitol; The reason why she cried for hours during the trip; The one who was, now, caressing her dark hair, her tanned skin, telling her jokes, playing with her. Playing with Annie. My Annie.

Some sort of fire ran through my body. It was a type of rage I only felt at the arena. My hand let go of the rose. I held back a scream and, a second later, I let my hand become a fist. Then the hot and red liquid that keeps my body alive started to drip, as I shattered the window beside me.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ouch"" I yelled. The bright hospital lights were shinning above me as I lay on a bed, surrounded by nurses.

"Sorry Mr. Odair, but I have to remove all the pieces of glass from your hand" said a young nurse. I noticed she was the only one working and the rest of them were there to hold me down.

"Don't be sorry" I heard a known voice say. "He doesn't need sorry. He needs to learn to think before he punches people's windows." Mags was standing at the door. She had a little paper bag in her hands, and I hoped it was food, cause I was already getting really hungry.

It took the hospital team quite a while to finish with my hand, and, since they were out of Capitol medicine, I had to remain with a thick bandage around half of my arm. Mags was still at the door and she only entered when all the nurses had left.

"Give me your arm" she said. I stretched it into her direction and she took a little syringe from the bag: Morphine. I felt the sharp sting in my vein, and then the pain started to vanish and I could think straight. Os as straight as it can get when you're under morphine.

"Now Finnick, tell me why on Earth would you punch someone's window?" I narrated all the events, ever since the beginning of the tour. Annie's confusion moments and how hard it was for her to deal with tribute's families. And I told her about how Annie always acted as if there was something between us and how after sometime I did fall in love with her. I mentioned my promise to come back to be with her and about the ex-boyfriend who was with her and who was the reason for the punch. And as I talked about everything, tears ran down my cheeks, and I was sobbing and I was in pain and morphine wouldn't help.

Mags listened carefully and silently. She patted my shoulder when I started to cry and waited patiently until I could finish my story. It took her a few seconds to process everything, and, during this time, my sobs were the only noise in the room.

"Maybe you just imagined it, Finn" she said softly. "Maybe you fell for her and you thought she felt the same, but she didn't."

"No!" I shouted as I got up from the bed. "I'm not crazy" I know what happened! I'm Finnick Odair. I live at District 4. My family works at the sea. I went to the Hunger Gamer. I won. I'm back at home. I'm Finnick Odair. I live at District 4…" I kept screaming. When I left the Games, I had the same psychological trauma as most of the winners. I trick to escape it was to repeat many facts about your life, in order to go back to normal state.

I stormed out of the room and ran through the hallways, heading towards the hospital's front door. As soon as I left, the hot air in the main street hit my skin. I felt sick and weak, probably because of the medication, but also hungry and I had nowhere to go. It would take too long to get to the Island and I would probably faint before that. I also had no money to spend at a bar or restaurant. There was only one place I could go.

Whatever was that Mags injected on me, it wasn't exactly morphine. The drug started to kick in really hard in my brain, and I felt dizzy. The street and the people started to spin around me and I tried to walk in a straight line. I went to the darker streets, behind the big shops and the warehouses, where the poorest people lived. It was a neighborhood called the bottom: an allusion to the bottom of the sea, where it was cold and dark. The area wasn't very pleasant during the winter, but it was a blessing on a day like that.

I kept walking until a reached a dirt road, back I the hell-like sun. The road lead me to a dune, which was actually a big rock wall. Behind it there was a little forgotten beach. It was calm and silent there, except for the slow motion of the waves. I half walked, half slipped down the rocks and walked towards a house on the farthest border of the beach, letting the waves soak my shoes.

It was the place where I spent most of my childhood and where my father and my brothers still lived. It was getting old and needing lots of repair ever since I was a baby, and it probably was that way when my parents bought it, but it never disappointed me. It was a great place to grow up and we were lucky to have it.

There was no one there, which probably meant they were on the sea, but the door didn't have a lock so getting in wasn't a real problem. As I made my way to the kitchen memories invaded my mind. The place was full of pictures: My father and his friends at the port; my brothers during what was probably their first day of work; a family picture from when my mom was still alive. Pinned to the fridge by a magnet there was a picture of a 14-year-old Finnick Odair, standing alone at an empty arena. His hair was dirty and wet from the blood dripping from his head. His clothes were half burnt and he had a trident on his hand.

I couldn't understand why they kept such and horrendous picture at the same place they ate, but I didn't have time to car for it. My knees were feeling weaker every second, partly from hunger and partly from whatever demon drug Mags gave me. I scanned the shelves and cabinets but could only find a bag of potato chips and canned fish. I couldn't complain given the situation. It was about 2 P.M. when I finished eating and I felt tired. It had been a really long day, already.

I had my own room at the house, while my brothers shared another one. Nep and Seid were twins, so they shared everything since birth, which was kind of good for me. My room remained the same. The walls painted light grey, with pictures and posters hanging on them; the drawer still had the same old clothes; My towel was still hanging on my chair, just like I had left it on the day of my reaping, 5 years before. No one had touched anything. I doubt anyone had even been there until that.

From my window I could see the waves hitting the rocks and there was a little broken spot on the glass that would let the sea wind come in. I collapsed on my bed, letting the smell and the sound of the ocean carry me back in time, and I fell asleep.

I was standing once again at the arena. It felt like the start of the Games, but I was alone. The Cornucopia in front of me wasn't gold, but covered with mirrors. I stared at my reflection: my hand was fine; my hair was parted to the side, with lots of gel; I was wearing capitol clothes, dressed up as if I was going to work.

Suddenly, I could hear a voice, which I recognized immediately. It was Annie. I walked around the shiny horn, looking for her. She was standing by the giant round entrance. She was wearing a long white dress, and she looked prettier than ever. Her mouth formed as smile when she looked my direction and I smiled back, until I realized we weren't the only ones there.

Tophller was behind me, wearing a white suit, the kind that grooms use at District 4. Then I understood what was happening. He walked past me, into Annie's direction. They kissed and repeated some words, and then they danced. That was when something appeared at my hand: my trident. I was at the arena, and I was the winner.

I aimed at Tophller and threw my weapon. He kept standing still, though. Tears started to form in my eyes as Annie fell to the ground. Her green eyes wide open, her white dress stained with blood. Before I could react, two peace keepers were holding my arms and forcing me to kneel. A third one stood in front of me, with his gun pointed to my forehead. I closed my eyes and heard an extremely loud noise.

I woke up scared to death. Dust was floating around in my bedroom, and my door was destroyed on the floor. My father was standing by the door, holding a giant knife he used to clean fish. I was sitting on the bed, covered in sweat, and my wound had opened, so part of my shirt and my sheets were stained red.

"Finn?" my father asked quite surprised. "What are you doing here?! I got home with the boys and noticed wet footsteps around the house and they lead my here, so I thought it was a thief or something. I'm so sorry I busted you like this, you look so tired and what happened to your hand? Did you get in a fight? Can I help…"

"It's cool Pops" I said interrupting him. My father tended to feel very bad every time he did something wrong, and that amused me. Not because I liked to see him bad, but because it showed how humble he was. A great man my father. "I was indeed planning to rob some stuff. And as for the hand, I punched a window as a metaphor for my broken heart, but that's a story for dinner time." I said getting up from the bed and grabbing my towel. "Now, I was thinking about getting in the shower and trying to fix this" I pointed to my bloody arm. "May I? I mean, is the Dynamic Duo waiting for me somewhere in the house with bats and thirsty for death?" I asked in a rather spooky voice.

"No" my dad answered, leaning against the doorframe. "They're surfing."

I walked to the bathroom, at the end of the hall and took what was probably the quickest shower of my life. The water in my house was ice cold, since my family could never afford hot water supply. I sometimes forgot my poor background. It tends to happen when everyone treats you like a King and you get an enormous amount of money monthly.

A lesson I learned on that day was to never punch windows with your good hand. My new bandage looked messy, since I did it with my left hand only. Still, it had stopped bleeding, which was good enough. I went back in my room and tried to find clothes that still fit me. I was already tall when I was 14, but I had a little growth spurt few years back. After a long search I found a red T-shirt that was always too big and now fitted perfectly and kept the pants I was wearing, since they weren't really dirty or anything. My dad had placed the old blue cap I used to wear before the reaping, but my hair was damp so I put it in my pocket for later.

My dad was at the front door telling the boys to go clean up for dinner. It was about 5 P.M. and the sun was lowering already. We had a nice view of the sunset from the beach and I wished I could bring Annie to see it. I also wondered where was she, if she was with Tophller, if she was happy. I got lost in thought and only snapped back to really when I felt two heavy bodies pushing me towards the floor. Nep and Seid were over me like dogs complimenting the owner they hadn't seen for a long time. Not that they were dogs or that I was their owner, but they seemed to miss me a lot, and I missed them too.

We all sat together for dinner. My dad had gone shopping so we had some great crab meat hamburgers, my father's specialty. I told them about Annie, but this time I didn't cry. They filled me in on everything that had happened at the District and also the gossips that went around the docks. Having dinner with my family was rather pleasant, and on that night, it didn't even feel like I had ever left to the Games.

I went to bed right after eating, because I knew the twins would want details on the past years: what really happened at the arena, what really happens at the Capitol and all these crap 16 year-olds always ask. I didn't feel like answering those (or any) question. I just felt like disappearing, but that wasn't an option, so I just said my "goodnights" and locked myself in my bedroom –or as locked as you can be by using your broken door to block the broken doorframe.

As much as I tried, I couldn't even try to fall asleep. Every time I closed my eyes, Annie's face would come haunting my mind like a ghost. I quickly abandoned that plan, and I resorted to something I hadn't done in a long time: reading. I used to be an avid reader before going to the Arena, but that's not the image the Capitol wanted, so I'm forbidden to purchase books and I can't go around asking people to buy them for me without having them ask why I couldn't do it myself. So I just quit the habit. Like old Capitol men quit drinking, and ladies who were ascending in society quit smoking.

I scanned my bookshelf looking for something that would please me. Although the books that got to District 4 from the Capitol were nice, they would always picture situations that never happened to us, so I hardly ever read them, unless I needed for school. The ones I really liked were the old books, written before Panem existed. My favorite one was "Robinson Crusoe". It was about a sailor who survives a shipwreck and ends up alone in an island, pretty much like I wanted to be.

I picked my copy from the shelf and lay in my bed. I knew I wouldn't read the whole thing in one night, so I just read some random parts. I really liked Robinson and I really liked his name most of all. It was different from any name in the district. If I ever have a son, I wish I can name it Robinson, because I know he'll be different from anyone here.

While I read and thought about it, I let my mind drift from that day. I let Annie's image slip form my brain and I fell into a dreamless sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Dear readers,**

**I believe I must apologize for taking so long to update. I hope some of you are still here :)**

**I also need to apologize for the next update will also take a while. I'll be doing NaNoWriMo, so I might not have much time to write this. But please keep believing that this fic won't be abandoned. I'll be back as soo as I can! In the meantime, I hope you like this chapter. Feel free to review :D**

**Yours truly,**

**AreYouRandy.**

Waking up before the Sun had risen was something I didn't do often. It was mandatory at the Arena, but I tried to sleep as much as I could ever since I moved to the Victor's Island. My dad's house, however, had a different effect on me. When I woke up, I felt fully restored, even though it was still quite dark outside.

I lay on my bed looking at the ceiling. There were some small strings, where a mobile used to be, but I ripped it after my first reaping. At the time, I thought it was the most shocking moment of my life. I saw kids from my school going up that stage. I still remember who they were. He was a school prodigy, probably the smartest guy at the 4. Everyone thought he would make it, if not for strength, for his brains. She was 17 and worked with her family making baskets. We had faith on them. But still, we saw them going away, we saw them running for their lives and we saw them dying. Little did I know it would be me a couple of years after that.

I sat up trying to shake those thoughts out of my head, and noticed my bandage was loose. Thankfully, the Capitol medicine Mags used fulfilled its job, and the only things left in my hand were small marks where the pieces of glass had been. That was nice. It meant I would be able to surf with my brothers and maybe do some work around the house for my father. I had been away for too much time.

Through my window I could see the first orange rays reflecting. A new day was starting. I quietly left my room and walked down to the kitchen. I left my house and went to the garage, where my dad kept his old boat. My surf board was placed exactly where I always kept it: on a corner on the right, it's bright green contrasting with the dark brown on the wood walls.

The waves were nice and the sea was cold. I liked it. My thoughts started to sail around Annie again as I made way into the ocean, far enough to avoid the breaking waves. She was a late sleeper and always complained about waking up to train and, after winning, to attend the tour events around Panem. The sun was rising and I couldn't help but think this was the same sun she would play underneath; the same sun that would make her dark hair seem lighter and that would make her cheeks rosy; the same sun she would complain about to Tophler, and they would seat by the large tree at her backyard and talk and laugh, like they did on the day I broke her window. It was the same sun that rose up behind me as I won the Hunger Games and the same sun that was setting when Annie's last battle started. We were always below the same sun, but now we seemed galaxies apart.

When it was impossible to tell if my face was wet from tears or sea water, I decided it was time to break that thought. So I started to surf. I slid down the waves as if I had never stopped for years. I surfed like I did on the day of my reaping and like on that day, I didn't feel the time pass me by. And like on that day, my father showed up at the doorsteps of our house and called me back for breakfast.

I entered home only to be welcomed by my brothers chanting:

-Who's the worst brother that is?- Nep would sing, to which Seid would answer:

-Finnick it is! Finnick it is!

-Who's out to surf without the twins?

-Finnick it is! Finnick it is!

-Father- I said, taking a place at the table. – I think you're letting these two spend too much time at the docks. They're singing like old sailors!

-Boys, stop and come to eat. Finnick, you know the rules. Go wash up before you join us at the table. - My father said. It was, indeed, a house rule made up by my mom. Dad used to hate it, but after she died, he did his best to keep her memory alive.

I went back to my room and then showered and changed. Despite my wet hair, I put on my old cap that was resting on my chair and then returned to the kitchen. Before I reached the door, however, I heard the sound of an excited chat that included more than three voices. Actually, the fourth one was the one I could recognize the best. It was the voice that guided me through my training and that later filled my dreams with instructions as I half slept under rocks at the Arena.

Mags was there, at the kitchen, happily talking about the latest gossips from the District. Her nephews, like all the men here, worked at the docks. Well, not all the men. I was the exception. Being the victor meant love from many people, but also lots of hate. The families of dead tributes didn't like me, especially the family whose daughter was at the Arena with me. The guys at the port would call me Prince Finnick behind my back, but little did they know how much I wished I could be like them.

I stood behind the slightly opened kitchen door, listening as Mags talked about a couple that was gonna get married, and how their parents were in chaos trying to arrange everything. "I'll never get married" I thought. Not only because the only woman I ever loved didn't remember me and was cuddled in the arms of another one. I would never get married because of my filthy job at the Capitol. I could never get married because I was nothing but a puppet controlled by President Snow.

The subject had already changed to a happy narrative by the twins on how the managed to capture a giant squid when I entered the room.

-Boys, why don't you go check if the old boat's engine needs oil? - My father asked.

-What? Why?- Seid replied. –That boat never worked!

-Then figure out how to make it sail.- Dad said in a nervous tone. I could tell he was tense. Mags was looking at me with sorry eyes, unlike the time at the hospital. Was it yesterday? The day before? It seems so long ago. Everything did.

My brothers were still mumbling when they went through the door that lead to our garage. I let all of my body weight fall into one of the chairs and felt it almost give in and break. Those were old chairs.

-Finnick- My father started in a softer voice. –Mags talked to the Cresta about what you did.

-And…?- I reply, still not ready for the answer. The Cresta were influential. Maybe they couldn't sue me, but I feared they would try something against my family. I never really trusted rich people.

-They won't do anything, but they want you to fix the window and do some other chores around their house.- Mags said. Phew…That was close. I still couldn't figure out why Mags went all the way down to the beach just to say this. She could have called unless…

-Mr. Odair, can I speak alone with Finnick for a second?- Mags asked. The old man was sure taken by surprised. He mumbled something about helping the boys with the boat and left through the same door as them.

No one but Mags knew about my job. At least not about the real one. Everyone thought I was a model and would sponsor the District's products at the Capitol. They didn't know I was the product. And they never would.

A strong value at the Odair house was not to objectify humans. When I was about ten years old, a boy took one of his dad's magazines to school. It was from the Capitol and it featured pictures of different women, most of them with weird hair and skin colors. But what shocked us the most was that they were all naked or wearing really short clothes that revealed everything. That day I got home and told my father about it. He then lectured me for hours on how it is wrong to sell people's bodies like that. Now I'm the one selling my body, for the sake of those around me.

-In a week you'll go back- Mags said. – You'll spend the whole month there.

-Do I know her?

-No. But she knows you. Big fan! She's turning fifteen, so you'll be her first. Congratulations!- She said ironically.

-So, about the Cresta job. House chores, huh?- I said pouring some milk into my cereal.

-Here. Take a look.

Mags slipped a small piece of paper in my direction. It was a list of the things I had to do at Annie's house. Fix the window, fix a sink, paint the fences, move some boxes, build a tree house.

-A tree house?! But I'm leaving in a week!

-Yes. So you better hurry. We need to meet Mr. and Mrs. Cresta in two hours.

The sun was burning through my cap and I stood beside Mags at Annie's door. When Mr. Cresta opened I felt the cool air revolve around me, pulling me in. We entered at the big living room, where Mrs. Cresta was sitting on the couch and another man stood beside her.

-Finnick!- She said with a forced smile. –Sit down, please! This is Dr. Cereb, his a psychiatrist who's been seeing Annie and I believe he might have some recommendations for your time working here.- She looked at the doctor, so he'd begin speaking.

-Look Finnick boy- He started, sounding like a one of the coaches at the training for the Hunger Games.

- Annie's is going through some sort of post traumatic amnesia, and exposure to anything related to the Arena has been setting off some anxiety moments. I understand you'll be working for a while here, so I must ask you not to interact with Annie. Avoid talking to her or even letting her see you. You were the closest person to her during that time, and I'm really afraid you'd bring memories she won't be able to handle.

I would be able to see her. I would walk around her house for a week, and she would be there but I would have to avoid her. I'd have to pretend she didn't exist. I'd have to forget her too.

-It's fine. - I said between my teeth. –Whatever works best for Annie, works best for me.

-Wonderful! - Mrs. Cresta said jumping off the couch, her fake Capitol accent was getting a bit stronger. –Now, Finnick, we didn't receive the material for the window, but the paint for the fences is already here. You'll probably want to start now, right? Mags said you'll have an important photoshoot at the Capitol in a week. I'm sure you're making our District proud!- "You bet." I thought.

She guided me to the back yard where I had seen Annie and Tophller. The house was a two story building, shaped like an L and there was a fence separating the back of the property from a piece of unused land. It would take me the rest of the day to do at least half of it, if I didn't stop for lunch.

The sun was beginning to set and I was done with a bit more than a quarter of the fence. I could keep going, but that would include fainting at the Cresta house, and I relly didn't feel like it. I sat at the ground, rested my back against and unpainted portion of wood and finally took a good look at the house. It was blue and really big. The yard had only a big tree, but they could easily plant some vegetables there. The doors that led to the house were glass made, but there was no one in the living room.

The second floor had 3 windows, one for each room at this side I guessed. The one to my left was shut and looked old, so probably no one slept there. The middle one was opened, and if I listened carefully, I could hear some music coming out of it. The window to my right was also opened; however, there were closed pink curtains. I kept looking at it more than it is normal to look at a window, until I noticed what held my gaze.

The curtains were too short and right at the end of them I saw it. They looked scared, confused and a bit amused. Like baby ones. There, below the end of the curtains there was a pair of green eyes looking at me. A pair I knew too well. There was a pair of Annie's eyes.


End file.
